Many multi-conductor connector assemblies comprise a plurality of individual, electrically conductive, Insulation Displacement Connectors (IDCs), each providing an electrical connection to an individual wire of a multi-conductor cable. A typical IDC has a wire-receiving slit for displacing the insulation from the wire when the wire is forced into the slit to make an electrical connection with the IDC. The IDC advantageously obviates the need to manually remove a portion of the insulation on the wire prior to attaching the wire to the IDC.
When attaching a multi-conductor connecting assembly containing a plurality of individual IDCs to a multi-conductor cable, an operator first strips the multi-conductor cable to remove its outer jacket and expose the individual wires within the cable. Next, the operator separates the wires and then places each wire in registration with its corresponding IDC. Thereafter, the operator forces each wire into the wire-receiving slit of an associated IDC with the aid of a tool having a slotted end adapted to receive the IDC. In practice, a portion of each wire will extend beyond its corresponding IDC following attachment. To avoid a possible short circuit, the operator will trim the excess length of each wire. For a multi-conductor connector having many individual IDCs, the operator will have to trim many wires which can be time consuming.
Thus, there is a need for a device that obviates the need to separately trim the excess portion of each wire after attachment to its corresponding IDC.